Friday, 30 September 2011

I will give a description of the plant and it's growing nature...I have even included a couple of pictures....however I won't be able to tell you if you're right because I have no idea what it is called so this isn't a guessing game but a plea for knowledge.

The beans in their plant-able state are about the size of a french bean and are sometimes dark purple/black and sometimes brown. The plants require a framework up which to climb and produce pretty little purple and white flowers.

The beans pods that grow are about the same size as those of french beans and are either purple, pink 'ish' or green in colour when harvested.

Above are some of the harvested beans ready for cooking.

The beans, although being a similar size and shape as french beans have a 'string' running down the seam like on runner beans. This needs trimming before being cooked as it is not very palatable.

The beans once blanched.

As is the case with some of these vegetable once blanched they all turn a vibrant green no matter what colour they started out as.

So that is about as much as I can tell you about them...I don't have a picture of the plant at the moment but I could take one if you think that might clinch an answer for you...Oh and the reason I don't know what they are is because i was given the seed from a friend who was given it by someone else who didn't know what it was called either.

7 comments:

I was going to say I name that bean Benny but that wasn't what you wanted was it? Do you think all the seeds were the same variety? Do the beans start off in all different colours or do they change from one colour to the next?

No idea going from your photo. Are you sure that all those beans have been harvested off one plant, there couldn't be more than one kind of bean planted together each giving a different colour bean? They do look pretty all together though.

Sue...no not really what I was after..lol. Yes I am sure all the beans are of the same variety as they are mixed on the plant, they just grow different colours.

Jo...I think I answered your comment in with Sue's.

Tpals....I have no idea if all coloured beans turn green when cooked....Maybe it would make a good post!!

Ann...I honestly never thought of googling it...and when I looked up the name that is exactly the right plant...apparently they come from the dwarf bean family...not one of my favourites though but I may give them one more go next year. Thanks for finding out for me. :-)

They sound a bit like some Cherokee Trail of Tears I grew a few years ago, although they look a bit flatter. They were a mix of colours with the horrible string down the side - which is why I stopped growing them. As far as I'm aware all the purple beans go green when you cook them though, which is such a shame!

How does the dried bean look? I had a rogue purple climbing bean amongst my dwarf green beans last year. The nearest bean variety turned out to be Blue Kew which I had never grown or heard of. It helps to match the dried bean as well as the flowers and pods - and Sue has got just the book you need! (The alternative is the internet). If you save your own seeds you're going to get some crosses. Perhaps you've got a "Tanya Bean".